


Cold Comforts

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Comfort Food, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Ice Cream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 06:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20169313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: She met his gaze easily, smiling at him. Any embarrassment at the moment eased at that look, though guilt still tugged at him. Kaede's hand dropping from his shoulder to lightly grasp at his hand, she stood up, tugging him along with her."Let's get ice cream."





	Cold Comforts

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second fic I have about kaede getting people ice cream. One more, and it'll be a series at this point ^^; I just,,, think icecream dates are cute. Romantic or not.

A gentle hand ran up and down his back steadily, a comforting motion that grounded Shuichi, kept him from spiraling further downwards. The pressure building behind his eyes was achingly familiar, even as Kaede sat beside him, put together and calm as always. Her hand slowed slightly, then moved to his shoulder. Kaede's eyes seemed to bore into his own, and Shuichi shifted his gaze to her hand.

"Do you want to talk about it? What happened back there?"

It wasn't accusatory in any way, but Shuichi still wanted to curl up, or leave, or do anything to avoid confronting the situation. His vision blurred, and he could feel his face heating up and breathing hitch slightly. "I just- u-um."

Shuichi's hands clenched at the fabric of his shirt, and he angled his head downward, quickly becoming overwhelmed. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say he never stopped being overwhelmed. His skin still felt sticky and wet with sweat from earlier, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Shuichi sniffed, unable to come up with an answer or an explanation. Kaede kept her hand on his shoulder, and she was quick to reassure him.

"Hey, hey, you're fine. You don't have to talk about it, 'kay?" She pulled out a white handkerchief from who-knows-where with her free hand, gently wiping at his face as he broke down further. "You're fine."

The cloth was smooth and silky as it moved against his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. Shuichi blinked, sending a few more trembling tears down his face, taking in a shuddering breath. Kaede didn't say anything more, instead focusing on wiping away his tears, all the while keeping her hand as a steady, constant presence on his shoulder.

The two of them sat together in mostly silence, with only the occasional reassurance from Kaede, or the wet sniffles and cries from Shuichi. He leaned forward slightly, and that was all the que Kaede needed to drop the handkerchief and embrace him, speaking quiet, soft nothings to him in comfort. It only took a couple of moments before his breaths steadied, even if it still hitched and hiccuped slightly, and his tears slowed down to a stop. Shuichi lifted his head to look at Kaede.

She met his gaze easily, smiling at him. Any embarrassment at the moment eased at that look, though guilt still tugged at him. Kaede's hand dropping from his shoulder to lightly grasp at his hand, she stood up, tugging him along with her. 

"Let's get ice cream." 

That… wasn't what he expected. Her voice left no room for questions though, and with the hollowed out feeling in his chest and thick feeling in his head, ice cream did sound nice. Shuichi moved forward as his answer, not quite ready to speak after all of that.

Kaede didn't seem bothered, so Shuichi matched her step, remaining by her side as she began moving. Her hand had mostly separated from his own, but their pinkies still intertwined to link them together.

"What kind of ice cream do you want? Chocolate?" She asked, looking over at him. He thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be easier to just agree, but Shuichi still shook his head lightly. He trusted Kaede enough to be honest.

"Yeah, that's fair. How about vanilla?" Another shake of his head.

"Strawbe- oh, wait!" Kaede interrupted herself to squeak excitedly, bouncing on her heels slightly as she turned fully towards Shuichi. "The ice cream shop I go to regularly, it has this _really_ good peanut butter ice cream! It's honestly to die for, do you want to try it?"

It actually did sound nice, but that could just be the way her eyes sparkled and lit up at the thought of it. It was impossible to say no to that face, Shuichi thought with the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. Kaede only continued to glow and radiate happiness as he nodded his assent. 

The ice cream shop she was referring to was actually about two miles away from the school. Shuichi didn't mind the walk, though. The steady pace and Kaede's constant dialogue was relaxing, and Shuichi liked exercise, anyways. It helped clear his head at night, and it wasn't a surprise that it helped him during a bad day.

He still didn't feel great, a lingering heaviness sat in his chest, and Shuichi could still feel the effects of crying, even if the red in his face had long left. But that was much better than earlier, and the longer they walked, with Kaede pointing out every cat, dog, and bird that they saw, Shuichi could feel that weight lessen.

"And then I told Miu to suck it- but that really didn't work out!"

"... I can imagine." Shuichi's voice was soft, still bordering on vulnerable, even as it trembled with laughter instead of tears.

Kaede hardly blinked, but her smile widened, and he could feel her pinky tighten slightly against his own. "Yeah… you gotta love her tenacity, though! As awkward as it is."

"Is that what you want to call it?" Shuichi chuckled slightly.

Conversation flowed easier now, as he relaxed and chimed in with his own opinions and occasional story. Time moved quickly, and in what felt like only a short moment, the two of them were standing in front of the shop. It was obnoxiously colored, and it was mostly empty on the inside. Shuichi would be convinced it was closed, if it wasn't for the employee idly tapping on their phone.

Cheery, echoing music hung around the building like a nostalgic ghost, and Shuichi immediately moved to sit at a booth. Kaede released his hand, tapped on his shoulder slightly, and she bounced up to the counter to order. Shuichi watched as she cheerfully greeted the employee and ordered, a bright, noisy star in such a quiet, humming shop.

She turned around to meet his gaze, and Shuichi flushed slightly, but he didn't turn away from her. 

It didn't take long, and soon both of them were seated at the booth with bowls of ice cream in front of them. Kaede was right. Of course she was, he thought, as the sweet, savory taste melted in his mouth. The mixture of peanut butter, cold, melty ice cream, and the warm drizzle of chocolate on top, was nothing short of amazing. He unintentionally let out a pleased hum at the taste, but it was fine. Kaede only giggled slightly and picked the conversation back up with ease.

Her own ice cream, as always, was covered in an almost ridiculous amount of toppings. Shuichi gazed at her, amusement dancing in his eyes, and Kaede huffed slightly.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! Here," Pouting, she dug the spoon into her own bowl, toppings and all, and stuck it out for him. "Try it. It's not that weird."

Shuichi laughed, leaning away slightly. "Hey, I didn't even say anything!"

"You were thinking it!" The spoon edged closer.

Shuichi didn't even care that her mouth had been on that spoon. He gave in with a short chuckle, and leaned forward to take the spoon into his mouth. An array of different flavors burst onto his tongue, but it wasn't actually that bad. Everything complemented each other, in a pleasant, contradicting way.

"Hah! See?" Kaede looked far too smug, and Shuichi couldn't suppress a grin. "It's good, right?"

And, looking at his best friend, who dragged him out here after his breakdown, who comforted him gently and bought him ice cream, Shuichi leaned down onto his hand with a soft smile and agreed. Everything really was good, at this moment. He couldn't ask for anything else.


End file.
